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Anil Ambani-backed Reliance Defence has formed a joint venture with French major Sagem for co-development and transfer of technology for Infrared Search and Track Systems (IRST) for naval warships and combat aircraft.
Sagem is into optronics, avionics, electronics and critical software for both civil and military markets.
It is also into inertial navigation systems (INS) used in air, land and naval applications. Last year its consolidated sales were €1.266 billion.
According to industry sources, the IRST business has a potential market of ₹6,000 crore. An IRST system is a well-established method for detecting metallic objects, which give off infrared radiation or heat signatures such as fighter aircraft and helicopters.
When contacted a Reliance Defence spokesperson said, “The company is in talks with multiple global vendors to realise the potential of Make in India” Sources aware of the deal said that Reliance Defence wants to complete the value chain by being present in all aspects of the fighting systems.
It will not only make ships but also manufacture systems such as IRST, which are mission critical.
In a warship, basic ship cost is about 40 per cent, while 60 per cent cost is incurred for mission critical systems such as radars and detection systems.
Reliance Defence has been tying up with a number of technology providers for its defence business.
Recently, in December 2015, Reliance Defence and Russia’s AlmazAntey had partnered for AD Missile Systems for Indian Defence Forces.
Sources said that the joint venture with Sagem will also manufacture Hemispherical Resonator Gyroscopes (HRG) in India for the first time. This high-tech equipment has multiple military and space applications. HRGs are known to be highly accurate and have least failures during battles.
“The joint venture will also provide a definitive technical edge to Reliance Defence & Engineering Ltd (REDL), which in its earlier avatar as Pipavav Defence had won a large number of orders from the Indian Navy and Coast Guard,” the source said.
RDEL also has an agreement with Sagem for Euroflir for the various helicopter programmes of the Indian forces.
The current requirement of helicopters for the Army, Navy and the Air Force exceeds 1,000 platforms in different categories, including Naval Light Utility, Reconnaissance, Search Helicopters and Multi-Role Helicopters, sources said.
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